3 Days Bwindi Gorilla Safari from Kigali
3 Days Bwindi Gorilla safari from Kigali is ideal for those persons that would love to trek mountain gorillas from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park but prefer to begin and end the safari from Rwanda. The safari is also for those who would rather do without long drive times as the drive from Kigali to Bwindi is only 4 hours compared to the 8-9 hours of road drive from Entebbe or Kampala. Travelers now opt to fly into Kigali International Airport of Rwanda and be transported for 4 hours to Bwindi in Uganda instead of flying into Entebbe. Travelers get to save $800 off every gorilla permit as gorilla permits in Uganda cost only $700 compared to $1,500 for a Rwanda gorilla permit.
Highlights of the 3 Days Bwindi Gorilla safari from Kigali
- Day 1: Pick up from Kigali Airport/Hotel and Transfer to Bwindi in Uganda
- Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- Day 3: Batwa cultural experience and transfer to Kigali
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Pick up from Kigali Airport/Hotel and Transfer to Bwindi in Uganda
- Transfer to Bwindi from Kigali: Depending on the time of the arrival of your flight or availability at the hotel, you will be met by our company driver-guide who will brief you about your 3-Days Bwindi Gorilla Safari from Kigali. You will then embark on your 4 hours’ drive to Bwindi in Uganda through very scenic areas of the land of a “thousand hills” to the Pearl of Africa. You will cross over at the Uganda- Rwanda borders of either Cyanika or Katuna to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park which is considered as the ‘Switzerland of Uganda’. You will check-in at the lodge for dinner and overnight.
- Drive Time: Approximately 4 hours
- Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner
- Lodging: Dependent on the gorilla sector allocated
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- Gorilla Trekking Experience: After breakfast at the lodge, you will walk to the park headquarters or be driven there depending on the distance of your lodging to the headquarters. You will meet other trekkers at the starting point and the park officials and rangers will brief you on your anticipated gorilla trekking safari, what you should expect and the rules and regulations to be followed. You will then be placed in groups of 8 and allocated a gorilla family to trek. You will then embark on the search of the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat and allowed only one hour to be with them once encountered, as they go about their day-to-day life and you can take pictures and videos of them. The trek can take any time between 2- 6 hours or more depending on the location of the gorilla family. After the one-hour encounter, you trek back to the park headquarters where you will have a gorilla trekking certificate of completion awarded to you. Your driver-guide will drive you back to the lodge where you will have your lunch and then relax as you wait for dinner and an overnight stay. Accommodation as above.
Day 3: Batwa Cultural experience and Transfer back to Kigali
- Batwa Cultural experience: Enjoy a sumptuous breakfast at the lodge and thereafter head out for the Batwa cultural trail where you will get to interact with the Batwa people who were former occupants of the rainforests of Uganda but got evicted in order to conserve them. The Batwa will share how they lived then and they will demonstrate how they did hunt, collect wild honey, prepare food, knowledge of medicinal plants and fruits among so many others. The cultural dances and songs usually climax the experience.
- Transfer back to Kigali: You will then head back to the lodge for lunch and then depart the park for a transfer back to Kigali for your outbound flight or back to your hotel.
End of 3 Days Bwindi Gorilla Safari from Kigali
